Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death

If there was any doubt that the Pusher trilogy is a work of art and should be seen as an important part of the gangster film canon, this final installment clears that up. Holy crap! The whole thing is great. It is so good that I want to go back and watch the whole trilogy again. So seedy, so violent, yet so tender at times - just like the best gangsters.

This one is about the Serbian crime boss Milo who is feeling a bit rundown by the youngsters of the world - whether or not they are young up and coming gangsters who don't give enough respect or by his spoiled whiny daughter.

Just do yourself a favor. Don't watch this a laptop on a bus to Washington like I did. I don't know what I was thinking. It gets pretty damn vulgar in a Texas Chainsaw Massacre kind of way near the end. Oops.

Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn
2005
DVD

Machete

What a movie! Oh my god, what a movie. From the first second to the last, this has to be the most incredibly fun movie of the year. This is definitely 2010's answer to the ridiculous fun of last year's Drag Me to Hell. I could watch movies like this everyday for the rest of my life.

Jim and Mooney raved about it but for some reason, I couldn't or wouldn't believe them that this movie was as good as they said. Jim even sent me a text right after the movie saying that Machete was awesome!!! I think this was his sly joke about how Machete don't text. Trust me, see this movie so you know what I'm talking about.

Every splattered head, every Danny Trejo utterance, every explosion, every Don Johnson or Steven Seagal or Robert De Niro or Cheech Marin appearance just added to the luster. Every Michelle Rodriguez badass move, Lindsay Lohan vacant stare, or Jessica Alba moment was perfect. Everything about this movie was great.

I didn't love Grindhouse but the fake trailer from it ended up producing this brilliance.

I can't wait for Machete 2!!

Directed by Robert Rodriguez
2010
Court St.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Eh.

I liked parts of it. It looked really good. And there were some truly inventive moments. But it was way too long. It's been a couple of months since I've seen this so I can't even remember that much about it other than the first third was a lot more fun than the rest. And that I'm sick of Michael Cera. By a lot.

Directed by Edgar Wright
2010
34th St.

The Runaways

I wasn't expecting much from this but I was still disappointed. Filmed like a glossy magazine shoot and written like a script that a 12-year-old Diablo Cody might have penned, this movie is not very good.

Still there are a few things to like. I thought Kristen Stewart did a great job as Joan Jett. And Michael Shannon was perfectly creepy as Kim Fowley. I wanted more of his story!

And the best part - the dude who played Damone in Fast Times made an appearance! Still, I can't really recommend this film to anyone.

Directed by Floria Sigismondi
2010
Blu-ray